One new Covid-19 case for Thailand today, a returnee from Japan

The Public Health Ministry is warning the public that partying and letting ones guard down could see daily Covid-19 infections rise to nearly 3,000. Opas Karnkawinpong from the Disease Control Department says evidence shows that the third wave of the virus which is currently spreading across the country is a result of younger people, aged 20 – 29, socialising frequently and with multiple contacts. He says it is more common during this latest outbreak to see entire families contracting the virus as a result.

His warning comes as officials outline the 5 most likely scenarios they envisage following the long Songkran holiday.

Scenario 1
If nightlife and entertainment venues are allowed to remain open, the country could see an average of 9,140 cases a day.

Scenario 2
If entertainment and nightlife is closed in high-risk, “red” provinces only, officials expect an average of 2,996 daily infections.

Scenario 3
If nightlife is closed and private parties are curtailed, average daily new infections could drop to 934.

Scenario 4
Daily new Covid-19 cases could drop to 593 if all entertainment venues are shut, private parties are cancelled, and public gatherings are curtailed.

Scenario 5
Average daily new infections could drop to 391 with the closing of nightlife and entertainment venues, the cancellation of private parties, a reduction in group activities, and a move to working from home.

Meanwhile, Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam is dismissing the possibility of curfews in red zone provinces, claiming “it is not needed”. Wissanu maintains that the colour-coded zones are “efficient at this stage”.

Last week, officials did computer modelling that showed, in the complete absence of disease prevention measures, with people left to live their lives as normal, the number of new daily infections could exceed 20,000.

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meets this afternoon to discuss the implementation of additional Covid-19 restrictions, widely believed to include a ban on the sale of alcohol in restaurants and eateries having to close at 9pm in “red” provinces. 18 provinces have been designated as “red” or maximum control zones, but this number is expected to rise.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand

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Three of Thailand’s biggest expat areas are seeing sharp rises in new infections, partly from pre-Songkran traffic. The Songkran holidays, now officially over (but will see many people taking today off and making a weekend Songkran extension), and the government says they are expecting to see a rise in the cases numbers reported in the popular holiday locations.

Chon Buri Public Health office says they now have a total of 910 infections since April 1. They have 103 new cases in the past 24 hours. Most new cases are in Bang Lamung district which includes Pattaya City with 47, Siracha with 12) & Chon buri City with 8.

Meanwhile Phuket has a total of 142 infections recorded on the island with the Governor still insisting there will be no need for a lockdown. Here’s a breakdown of the areas and the numbers of recorded infections so far (below).

Governor Narong announced that the Phuket Infectious Disease Control Committee won’t be implementing an official lockdown, but will “strictly raise the intensity of public health measures to counter the spread of Covid-19″.

“Everyone should wear a face mask, maintain social distancing, wash their hands frequently and install the Mor Chana app (available for free from App Store and Google Play Store).”

A meeting of the CCSA, chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is expected to upgrade restrictions in red zone areas around the country, which includes Phuket and Pattaya. Read more about the latest red and orange zones HERE.

For Hua Hin expats, there’s been 100 new Covid-19 infections announced in Prachuap Khiri Khan in the past 24 hours, 75 cases from Hua Hin. This takes the total in the province since April 1 to 625. Hua Hin accounts for nearly 90% of the district’s total cases.

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The Health Minister insists the AstraZeneca vaccine will remain Thailand’s primary Covid-19 jab, despite concerns over rare side-effects. Some countries have suspended its use, while Denmark is the first country in Europe to abandon it completely. However, Anutin Charnvirakul says it’s up to each country to make their own decisions and Thailand is pressing ahead with the jab.

“There are many factors for each country whether to use or not use the vaccine. But we have expertise to closely monitor the vaccine information. We base decisions on scientific knowledge, not news. If something happens, we will let the public know. Please do not worry about it.”

Thailand is ordering vaccines from a limited number of manufacturers, primarily AstraZeneca and China’s Sinovac Biotech. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Kingdom is purchasing 71 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab and 2 million doses of CoronaVac, the vaccine from Sinovac. The rollout is expected to begin in June, with health officials aiming to inoculate 35 million people (half the population) by the end of the year.

However, the challenge will be gaining the public’s trust, as countries around the world express concerns about the very rare risk of blood clots that appears to be associated with adenovirus vector vaccines, such as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is the third vaccine to be approved for emergency use in Thailand, but the US has just suspended its use following a number of blood clot incidents similar to the AstraZeneca cases.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation and the European Medicines Agency insist the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks of very rare blood clots. In the UK, the vaccine has been widely administered as the country sets its sights on achieving herd immunity, with Anutin pointing out that infections there have dropped considerably.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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